Dear You,
"I've heard it said that people come into our lives
For a reason bringing something we must learn
And we are lead to those who help us most to grow
If we let them and we help them in return."
"For Good" from "Wicked."
People pass through our lives all the time. A lot of them walk by without us ever noticing, but some people, whether we interact with them or not, stay with us forever. This includes you. You might know who you are, or maybe you don't, but you taught me something that has stayed with me for a long time.
Many of you were my teachers, instructors, and professors who taught me how to read a scientific journal article, write an analytic essay, or how to solve quadratic equations. You taught me the academic skills I needed to succeed throughout my career as a student, but I learned more important things in the classroom. The time you let me do an independent project about nature poetry I learned how to set educational goals for myself and find inspiration in time to meet my deadlines. That science field trip where you made the natural history of the local bog exciting is part of what drove me to become a biology major. The history class where despite several years of teaching about the horrors of the Holocaust, you still teared up taught me to have compassion, even when studying the past. The evening extra help sessions where you would sit with me for a solid twenty minutes as I struggled to solve a challenging equation I learned persistence and diligence. In fact, the day you taught me how to use a dictionary was the same day you taught me the word diligence and its meaning. What you taught me in first aid and again in EMT class about situational awareness and how in order to take care of others I have to take care of myself has saved me from close calls on several occasions. Through your encouragement to keep trying even when I don't get it right the first time, to follow my passions and to believe in myself, I have come a long way from the person I once was. I have grown in ways not even I can fully understand, and for that, I am truly grateful.
Maybe you were never my teacher, or at least not in an academic setting. I didn't learn everything in the classroom, after all, sometimes we learn the most from the people we'd least expect. You come from all walks of life, children and elderly; college dropouts and PhDs, but all of you had something to teach me. My family, you taught me what it truly means to have someone's back, to never give up on them, to unconditionally love, that blood runs thicker than anything else. My friends, you taught me the power of nonbiological "family." From you I learned how to encourage someone, that sometimes just sitting with someone quietly is just enough of a way to comfort someone as hugging them and listening to them vent. Coworkers, you taught me that the best way to power through a not-so-fun task is to put on some music and make it a pleasant time. I learned how to come together with people I would not normally know or hang out with and work towards a common goal, even if we did not always get along.
I've learned so much from all of you and I can't begin to mention everyone, so please let me say this:
Thank you.
I hope I said this to you in person, but we don't always realize what an impact a person has had on our lives until we've had a chance to reflect and that sometimes takes a while. Regardless, I am eternally grateful for the lessons you taught me and can never forget that. Memory may fade, but you have helped shape me into the person I am, and nothing can ever change that. So please, let me say it again:
